152 Presidemfs Address. [sess. m. 



time to time Catalogues of British Flowering Plants and 

 Ferns. 



I find it stated in the early records of the Society, that it 

 would prosecute its objects by " making botanical excursions 

 both in the neighbourhood and to distant parts." These 

 objects are still indirectly pursued by the Society — the 

 former by the Professor of Botany and his students in their 

 regular class excursions, and also by individual members of 

 the Society; and the " distant parts " have not been neglected, 

 for annually the Scottish Alpine Botanical Club, which may 

 be regarded as a branch of this Society, spends a week or 

 ten days examining the Flora of our Scottish Highlands, and 

 for the past seventeen years has done much good work. It 

 was in one of these excursions that the late lamented John 

 Sadler discovered the willow which bears his name, a plant 

 new to science, and the same day Carex frigida, a plant new 

 to the British Flora ; and last year, in Glen Spean, this 

 Club discovered two new stations for that rare plant Saxifraga 

 rivularis, and .also a new station for that rarest of British 

 alpines, Saxifraga cmsjniosa, a plant that had not been pre- 

 viously gathered in Scotland since the foundation of this 

 Society. This work, too, is being taken up and actively 

 prosecuted by the " Camp Conunittee " of this Society. The 

 memljers of this Committee have done good work already, 

 and I believe that when they shall be a Camp Committee in 

 reality, as well as in name, that still greater discoveries 

 will be made by them. 



It was the custom of the Society from the first to appoint 

 Local Secretaries, from whom, in their res]K'ctive districts, all 

 information regarding the Society's objects and proceedings 

 might be obtained. This excellent practice is still observed ; 

 ])ut 1 fear tliat in not a few cases they are correspondents 

 in name merely, and it is to be ho])ed tliat all our local 

 secretaries may from time to time furnish us with such 

 communications as will advunce the great olijects of this 

 Society. 



I wish also to direct attention to the close relation 

 Ijetween this Society and the lioyal Botanic Garden, which 

 has existed from the very first, and which, I am happy to 

 say, still exists. Tlie meml)ers of this Society have done 

 much for the Poyiil liolanif Cai'dcn in the past. Tlicy have 



